


It's In My Bones, It's In My Blood

by AwakeAndAliveSpartan



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Blood, F/M, Halloween Oneshot, Not much else can be explained, Werewolf! Ward
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-11
Updated: 2016-10-29
Packaged: 2018-08-21 19:20:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8257441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwakeAndAliveSpartan/pseuds/AwakeAndAliveSpartan
Summary: It's not everyday when animals masquerade as humans, especially when it's a fellow teammate. What's Skye supposed to do when her SO suddenly turns feral and kills the soldier that's holding them captive?A Halloween Oneshot.





	1. And I Can't Control It

Grant growled lowly at the soldier standing above him. He struggled against the ropes that bound his wrists together behind the rotting chair that he sat in. “You know that you won’t be able to keep us like this.” he tried to tease, casting an uneasy glance towards Skye, whom of which sat bound in the chair right next to him. “You’re too weak.”

The soldier snorted and spat on Grant, “Who’s the one all tied up here? Oh, that’s right. It’s you, not me. You’re also unarmed. If you even managed to get out of that rope, I’ll shoot you dead.” he deadpanned, crossing his arms over his chest. He began to walk over towards Skye, “You do what I say or I’ll might even shoot her.” 

Grant’s lips curled into a nasty snarl as the soldier grabbed Skye by her ponytail and jerked it back. His stomach churned as Skye let out a short scream of pain. The soldier leered at them both, having the actual nerve to let out an abrupt laugh. 

“Don’t touch her!” Grant barked, still struggling against the rough material of the ropes. “No one touches her at all!” A weird, animalistic growl rumbled deep within his chest, but no one heard it. Grant was aware of it, but he didn’t care one bit about it at all. He knew what was happening, but for the first time in his life it didn’t bother him one bit. “Keep your filthy hands off of her!”

The soldier dropped Skye’s hair and turned to look at Grant with a teasing smile, “Oh, is this love I see?” he asked in almost a sing-song voice. “You’re very defensive of her, aren’t you?”

Grant was far too enraged for him to become flustered, something that he would normally do if someone asked him that in any other situation. His jaw clenched and Skye could see the tic in his jaw. There was a wild gleam to his eyes as he sneered at the man, trying his best to lie, “What? No. I don’t want you fuckers touching any of my team. You touch them, I break you.” he hissed, a slight tremor rising to the surface of his body. He was trying his best to hold himself back, but he wasn’t sure to how much longer he could keep it up. “Touch her one more time, I’ll rip you apart.”

“Oh, I’m so damn scared!” the soldier laughed. “Like I said, you’re unarmed and tied up! You may be one of SHIELD’s best, but you’re completely useless in this situation! As far as I know, you’re human. You’d have to be something else for you to get out of here unscathed.”

“Good thing you’re wrong about me.” Grant growled, his voice more animal than human in that moment. “If you keep this game up, you’ll regret ever picking us up. You don’t mess with me. The last person that pulled something like this died; drowned in his own blood.”

Skye’s stomach dropped as she looked to Grant with wide eyes, “Ward, what the hell are you talking about?” she asked, her voice barely a squeak. “What do you mean by that?”

Grant gritted his teeth and looked away from Skye as he could feel the pressure begin to build deep within his chest. He shook his head and laughed sadly, “I really wished that it would never come to this, Skye. I wanted you to believe that I was a good person, not the animal that I really am.” he replied lowly, a distinct distortion to his voice. “We don’t have long.”

“We don’t have long until  _ what _ ?” Skye asked again, panic rising in her voice. She honestly had no idea to what Grant was talking about and it was seriously beginning to freak her out. Grant never acted like this; he was almost acting as though he was a completely different person right now. She had never seen him act so vicious towards another person. Something was definitely completely wrong with him. 

“Trust me, you’ll find out soon enough. But promise me one thing, Skye. Promise me that you’ll run and get as far away as you can when it does happen.” Grant continued, still keeping his eyes off of her. He hated that she was seeing him like this. “And please don’t become afraid of me. What’s about to happen isn’t something that I asked for. I didn’t ask to be born as a monster. I can’t control what’s about to happen. I’m sorry.”

“ _ Monster?! _ ” Skye exclaimed, a lump trying to form within her throat. “Grant, you’re not a monster! I don’t know what the hell you are talking about!”

“Then I’m so sorry.”

The soldier sneered once more and reapproached Skye. He kneeled down right in front of her and grabbed her face with one hand so she would look at him. “It seems that your boyfriend has gone insane.” he joked. “You’re really shit out of luck now, sweetheart. We’ll get what we want then we’ll properly dispose of the both of you.” His smile grew into a creepy grin, “Maybe you’ll have some use to us. Such a pretty girl can’t go to waste. We could do so much with you.” he cooed. “Like-”

He was cut off as a sound akin to a wild animal’s growl reverberated within the room and a shadowy blob slammed into him, causing him to slide across the concrete floor to the opposite wall. Skye’s eyes flew to the new scene to see Grant kneeling over the now-fallen soldier. Her eyes flickered over to the chair, now of which was a pile of splintered wood. The ropes that had bounded Grant’s wrists were now nothing but shredded fibers. Wait. How had Grant done that? Their captors had stripped them of all weapons and there was also no way that a knife had of done something like that. 

A loud, but abrupt, scream caught her attention and she looked to see Grant doing  _ something  _ to the soldier, whose legs were flailing as Grant was leaned in closely to him. The movement of the soldier’s legs soon ceased and Grant slowly sat up. But he didn’t move to look back at Skye at all. An eerie silence filled the small room as Skye could feel her breath hitch in her chest. Just what was going on?

A trail of liquid started to pool on the floor next to the soldier, and on closer inspection Skye knew that it was blood. Grant had killed the soldier, but  _ how _ ? Skye’s breath hitched again as Grant’s head slowly began to turn her way. A low growl rumbled in the room again as Grant’s eyes met Skye’s and she almost lost what remained in her stomach. 

Blood-red orbs stared back at her, both malice and  _ hunger  _ shone in them. Grant cocked his head as Skye’s eyes trailed to the blood staining the lower half of his face. His lips parted to reveal massive  _ fangs _ that were also stained with blood, the  _ soldier’s blood. _ A low growl rumbled inside of what seemed to be his chest as he slowly began to rise to his feet, leaving the bloodied corpse behind. His hands fell to the side and he flexed his fingers, gaze still locked onto Skye. She now noticed that razor sharp claws had taken the place of Grant’s fingernails, which now had blood and gore drying on them. 

Skye let out a small squeak as Grant took one step her way, “Grant?” she croaked, trying to somehow break free of the rope. She wasn’t sure of what the hell was going on. She had no idea to what Grant had turned into, she just hoped that she didn’t end up like the soldier. Grant had told her to run before whatever this was happened to him. 

Grant looked like a wild animal now, that fearsome light in his eyes practically paralyzing Skye as she tried to break free. He approached her ever so slowly, like a wolf stalking its prey. Another low growl rumbled in his chest as he surveyed the defenseless Skye. His nose flared as he tried to take in her scent. Skye felt as though her heart was in her throat as she still wriggled her wrists around to try and loosen up the bonds. Luckily, she could feel them start to loosen up. She knew that if she didn’t get out soon, she would end up exactly like the soldier that Grant had ripped the throat out of.

“Grant, please.” she begged, her voice catching. “It’s me, Skye. I’m not your enemy. Stop this, please, before you do something that you’re gonna regret! The soldier’s dead, he can’t bother us anymore. Please, stop for a second and realize just what the hell you’re doing. I know that you don’t wanna kill me.” Skye twisted her wrists around one final time and felt the rope fall to the floor. “You’re not like that, right? What happened to wanting to protect me?”

And to her luck, Grant paused in his tracks, his blazing red eyes staring her down. It almost seemed like he was studying her again, but this time he was trying to comprehend what she was saying. In this animal-like state, Grant had lost all human reasoning. He growled, but remained in place. 

“Grant, was the soldier right?” Skye continued, slowly coming to her feet. She raised her hands in the air to show that she wasn’t a threat to him at all. “He asked if it was love.” her voice cracked as she paused momentarily. “Was it? I don’t know what came over you. I’ve never seen you that violent before. I know that you want to protect me, but is there a bigger reason to why?” she asked. 

Grant growled again, but his facial expression softened and his growl slowly morphed into a low whine. He unclenched his fists, but he still didn’t move from his spot. It seemed as though he was beginning to grow  _ scared _ , like his rage was subsiding and his normal self was  starting to break back through again. 

“Grant,” Skye began, taking a slow and cautious step towards the changed Grant. “I don’t care to whatever this is, because I know that you’ll never hurt me intentionally. You’re not a monster. I don’t know what this is, I do want you to explain later, but I’m not scared of you. I just want you to calm down so we can get out of here, okay?” She paused once more and bit her lip, “Just answer one question for me, alright? Do you love me, Grant?” she questioned softly.

The rage in Grant’s eyes started to melt away completely, realization and fear starting to come back to the surface. He blinked and looked around, his eyes resting onto Skye, “Skye?” he asked, his voice barely a harsh whisper. “What’s going on? What the hell did I do?”

Skye could only smile at him, but she didn’t want to answer him. How could she answer him? She couldn’t even begin to explain she scene that had unfolded out right in front of her. Her smile just fell and she shook her head sadly. 

Grant began to breathe heavily as a panic attack started to grip him. He knew that this would happen, he knew that he would end up slaughtering the soldier. He just couldn’t help it, that instinct was sewed deep into his bones and into his blood. He felt the darkness of unconscious start to drag him down. He didn’t care, he now just wanted out of here. 

He looked at Skye, tears shining in his reddened eyes, “I’m so sorry.” he croaked out just as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell to the floor.

“Grant!” Skye screamed, dashing over to him and kneeling down right next to him. She watched as his features returned back to normal. She took one of his bloodied hands, ignoring the blood that practically covered him. Processing the event was still out of her reach. Now, she just wanted to get her and Grant out of here, then they would deal with what she had seen. 

“Just what the hell are you, Grant?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there will be one more chapter, mainly one that just explains everything. Please leave a kudos or a comment, I'd like to know what you thought!


	2. The Beast is Ugly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skye gets the explanation she needs.

The next while had basically been one huge blur for Skye. Soon after Grant had passed out, after whatever the hell that had been, Coulson came storming in with May and a small SHIELD strike team. And as soon as Coulson had seen the mauled soldier and the blood staining the unconscious Grant’s hands and face, he began barking out orders for the strike team agents to move him. It took about four of the agents, all of which were just a bit smaller than Grant, to pick the unconscious man up off of the floor.

Skye watched in disbelief as May headed out with the four soldiers and Grant. She looked to Coulson for an explanation, “What the hell was that, Coulson?!” she exclaimed, pointing at the now-open door. 

Coulson shrugged and motioned for her to follow him out, “I don’t have much time to explain right now and I feel like Ward’s the best one to explain his situation.” he answered briskly. “But to put it plainly, he’s a werewolf. Some kind of familial trait. But like I said, it’s better if he is the one that explains it to you. God, I was hoping that it would never get to this.”

Skye’s stomach dropped, “Wait,  _ werewolf _ ?!” she almost screamed. “Those don’t exist!”

Coulson sighed and stopped briefly, turning around to look at Skye, “Yet Ward exists. What you saw was more than enough proof.” He paused, “Wait, what  _ did _ you see?” he asked, starting his pace back up again.

“Ah, he had big fangs and razor-sharp claws. Oh, and his eyes were freaking bloodred! And not to mention his ears!” she exclaimed, trying to keep up with Coulson as the two remaining strike team agents tailed them. “Why didn’t I know that before?!”

“Because that is something that Ward likes to keep secret. Only I, May, Hill, and Fury really know about it. And a few scientists that help study him from time to time. He never wanted you to find that out.” Coulson began to explain as they walked. “Skye, I will admit that I know that he likes you. He didn’t want you to find out what he really was because he thought that it would run you off. He did want you to be  _ scared _ .”

“He freaking mauled a soldier to death, Coulson!” 

Coulson’s breath hitched slightly, “I was afraid that you were going to say that.” he said, slightly disappointed. “Ward’s never intentionally hurt anyone other than the enemy. Anything else has been a mishap, all because they happened to piss him off.” he continued. “I imagine that he killed the soldier to protect you. Did that soldier happen to hurt you?”

“Well, he was threatening me and did jerk my head back by pulling my ponytail.” Skye answered. “But Grant almost attacked me! I had to get him to calm down!”

“He sometimes has a hard time calming down. Especially if he was completely enraged. You’re lucky that he didn’t transform all the way.” Coulson stated. “It’s a really good thing that it seems that you did calm him down. We usually have to sedate him if he gets out of hand. That really goes to show that you two do have a connection.”

Skye tried to move the subject on. She was still shaken up by the fact that Grant did almost attack her. There was no telling to what would’ve happened if he had of attacked her. But by how Coulson explained it, maybe Grant would’ve never gotten to attacking her. God, it was all making her head hurt. 

She really wasn’t scared of Grant, just mainly confused. She wanted a huge explanation from him once she did see him again. But, wait. Just where did the strike team and May take him?

“Where is Grant being taken?” she asked quietly, seeing that they were approaching the exit. The strike team must’ve had cleared out the base before they got to her and Grant.

“He’s just being taken back to the Cage. That’s all.” Coulson answered simply. “He’ll sleep off the effects of his semi-transformation and he should be good once he wakes up within a couple of hours. That’s usually how it goes. You’ll be able to ask him questions then. I imagine that he’ll be wanting to try and clear things up with you.”

“Are you sure that he’ll be okay?”

“I’m positive.”

* * *

  
  


(A Few Hours Later)

Skye made her way towards the Cage after Coulson had told her that it was okay to go see Grant. Even though Grant was awake and calm, he was to stay in there the rest of the day to be safe. It was kind of hard to explain why Grant was in there to Fitzsimmons when they didn’t know what had happened. They weren’t supposed to know just yet. Grant would probably tell them later on.

She held her breath as she reached the door and moved her hand towards the knob. Did she really want to do this? Did she really want to see him again after seeing  _ that _ ? Well, it couldn’t hurt to try and get things cleared up between her and him. She just wanted to know to why he was like the way he was.

The Cage door made a harsh sound as she slowly opened it. She saw Grant immediately stand straight to his feet once she stepped into the metal-clad room. Of course they put him in here. If something happened, he could be ejected out of the roof in an emergency. 

“Skye!” Grant exclaimed, moving towards her as she walked into the square room. “I… I didn’t think that you’d come back after that. I’m so sorry that you had to see that. I didn’t mean for it to happen. The soldier had his hands all over you and I couldn’t stand it. So I just  _ snapped. _ ” He was talking about a hundred miles an hour, which made Skye’s head start to hurt. 

Skye held a hand up, “Grant, first you need to slow down. You’re talking way too damn fast for me to understand you. Second, what the  _ hell  _ was that?”  she asked, taking the metal chair from the interrogation table and sitting down in it. She looked up at Grant for a response. 

Grant sighed and made his way back to one of the chairs attached to the metal wall and sat down. He shook his head, “I suppose you want the entire story, right?” he questioned, running his hands through his black hair. 

“Of freakin’ course I do.” Skye said matter-of-factly, nodding briskly. “I thought werewolves didn’t exist.”

“Well, they do.” Grant answered, his eyes trailing to the floor. “I come from a family of them. The Ward bloodline is strong, goes back a few centuries. It usually affects the males of the family, but there’s been quite a few female wolves. I think my great-great aunt was one. My grandfather was the last one before me. It skipped a generation for some reason.” Grant sighed deeply once more, “I wish that it had skipped another generation. My brothers nor my sister were affected, they’re only carriers of the gene. But I got the short end of the stick when it comes to the Ward gene pool.”

“How did it began?” Skye asked kind of quietly, trying to take in the fact that Grant came from a long bloodline of actual werewolves. 

“Well, I was about fifteen. It’s not caused by a full moon like the myths lead you to believe. Even though I do think the phases of the moon does affect our instincts somehow. Emotions are the number one factor in the change, or at least in my case.” Grant began. “You already know that my family was abusive. My older brother beat the shit out of me, my mother was both physically and verbally abusive, and my father just didn’t care. He was either too busy or too drunk to care. It was just me and my younger siblings. I had to be the one to protect them.

I was always too protective of them though. But you see where that  _ instinct  _ comes from.” he continued. “And one day that instinct became just too much for me to handle. Our older brother, Christian, was in one of his moods in which he loved to torture the shit out of us. He had our little brother, Thomas, pinned down in a corner and he was kicking him over and over. Tommy was screaming for help and I remember just completely snapping and everything going black. When I woke up, I was in SHIELD custody and my family had abandoned me.”

A knot had formed in Skye’s stomach by now, “What happened?” she asked, her voice barely a croak. 

“I had wolfed-out and attacked Christian. I had mauled his arm and he ended up in the ICU for several days.” Grant answered, no hint of remorse in his voice. “SHIELD responded to the call of a teen turning into a massive wolf monster and they got me. I was lucky that Coulson was the main agent that responded.”

“I know that he was your SO, it that how it happened?”

Grant nodded, “That’s exactly how it happened. While most just saw me as that fur-covered beast, Coulson saw me as the scared fifteen year old boy. He knew that I didn’t deserve to be locked up for the rest of my life and studied. He took me in and raised me for a while, despite the dangers. Then he got me into the Academy and that’s how I got to where I am today.

I’ve only had a few incidents, mainly because I take my instincts out on targets that SHIELD chooses. But I’m still surprised that I was let onto a team. I didn’t want to become attached to anyone because I was afraid that I would hurt them.” he continued. “And I didn’t want anyone to know because I thought that would make them run away from me. I can’t help what I am, Skye. I didn’t choose to be this way, I was born this way.”

Skye swallowed a lump that had long formed in her throat, “Back there, you almost attacked me.” she stated. “What was that?”

Grant shook his head, “No, I would’ve never hurt you. I was still in my rage, but I would’ve never even touched you.” He paused briefly, “You’re the one person besides Coulson that I cannot hurt.”

“What do you mean?”

He scratched at the back of his head, “Well, I see Coulson as my father nowadays since he’s done so much for me and is way more my father than my actual father ever was.” he stated. “So I can’t touch him because he’s family.”

“Then what about me?”

Grant gulped slightly, “Well,uh, that’s kind of hard to explain.” he admitted. “You see, I do, uh, like you.” Blush started to rise to his cheeks. “And that has an effect on the wolf part of me that makes me unable to hurt you.”

“What kind of effect?”

“It, ah, doesn’t do anything to you at all. Only me. To put it plainly, it’s like I’ve chosen you as my, uh, mate.” The blush on Grant’s cheeks grew even more. “That’s the best way that I can explain it.”

Skye blushed as well, “Your  _ mate _ ?” she asked incredulously. “You mated with me?”

“Well, not like that at all. That just means there’s a connection between me and you that makes me unable to hurt you. It means that I’ll protect you no matter what and so on and so forth. I’m not really sure of how else to explain it.” He stood to his feet, “Skye, I know what you saw back there was terrifying and that isn’t even the worst it can get. I’m sorry that you had to see it. Just promise me that you won’t run away.”

Skye gulped and slowly stood to her feet as well to try and meet Grant’s whiskey-brown eyes. There was just something about him that calmed her. She couldn’t be afraid around him. And, honestly, she knew that he would never hurt her at all. The only thing scary about him was what hid underneath his skin. Not him himself.

“Grant, honestly, I am pretty shaken-up. I’ll admit that.” she began, reaching out for his hand. “But you probably expected that. But you’re right, you would never even lay a finger on me. And you don’t have to apologize for any of that. At least you kept us safe.”

Grant looked to the ground to try and avoid her gaze, “I know. It’s just that I never wanted you to see that side of me.”

“Look, I won’t run away.” Skye stated. “If you can’t hurt me, then I’m not afraid. Alright?”

He looked back up to her, a small smile forming on his face, “Really? You’ll stay?”

She smiled back at him, “Well, it’s not like there’s anywhere else for me to go. It’s either here or my van again. And I’d rather be here with you than out there.” She gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. 

“Thank you. At least you didn’t give up on me. You and Coulson are the only ones that never did. Everyone else only saw me as a monster.”

“Don’t worry, Grant. It’s not like you’re the Big, Bad Wolf or anything. You’re not a monster, you’re just you. You’re just Grant.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you go! I know that it's not much and that I should've updated sooner, but college is really taking a toll. I just wanted it to be finished by Halloween. And I promise that another story will be updated tomorrow. Please leave kudos or a comment!

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a little something I thought up for Halloween. I hope that you enjoyed!


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